What Are You Passionate About? Part 2

From last week's blog...

There are plenty of things that seem to comfort our soul and bring us temporary pleasure but just like junk food, the satisfaction fades quickly and leaves a dull ache in its wake. On the other side of the coin, the pleasures of God bring lasting satisfaction that doesn’t disappoint or leave a bad aftertaste.


Part 2

Have you got a passion for God or has it been snuffed out by distractions and things that are only temporary?

There are four simple things we can do to grow our passion for Him.

1) It goes without saying that we cannot love someone we do not know. 

Get to know God and what He has done for you. We would do well to remember that the Bible is more than a book; it is truly God’s love letter to us, revealing His love for us through the centuries, especially through the ministry of Jesus Christ, His Son. We must read the Bible as a letter from Him, asking His Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts about what He wants us to glean from it that day. Memorizing important verses and passages is also essential, as is thinking of ways to apply what we learn (Joshua 1:8).

2) Follow Jesus’ example of praying constantly and consistently.

When we examine the life of Jesus as well as that of Daniel and others who had a passion for God, we find that prayer was a vital ingredient in their relationships with God (even a quick reading of the gospels and the Book of Daniel reveals this). As with Bible study, prayer—sincere and open communication with God—is essential. You cannot imagine a man and woman growing in love without communicating, so prayer cannot be neglected without expecting one’s love for God to grow cold. Prayer is part of the armor against our greatest enemies (Ephesians 6:18).

3) Walk closely with Him NOW. 

Daniel and his three friends chose to obey God and refused to compromise in even the food they ate (Daniel 1). The others who were brought from Judah to Babylon as prisoners with them caved in and are never mentioned again. When the Jewish prisoners of war had their convictions challenged in a far greater way, it was only these few who stood alone for God (Daniel 3 and 6). In order to ensure that we will be passionate for God later, we need to walk with Him now and begin to obey Him in the smallest tests!

4) Eliminate the competition. 

Jesus said it is impossible to have two masters (Matthew 6:24). We are tempted to love the world (those things which please our eyes, make us feel good about ourselves, and gratify our fleshly desires) (1 John 2:15-17). James says that to seek to embrace the world and its friendship is enmity (hatred) toward God and spiritual adultery (James 4:4). We need to get rid of those things in our lives (friends who would lead us the wrong way, things that take up our time and energy and keep us from serving God more fully, pursuit of popularity, pursuit of possessions, and the pursuit of physical and emotional gratifications). God promises that if we pursue Him, He will not only provide for our needs (Matthew 6:33) but will give us our desires as well (Psalm 37:4-5)

There are many things in our life that can quench our passion…the loss of a loved one, circumstances and our immediate environment, but God has the ability to stir up a fire in us again IF we desire it.

If you feel distant from God or like your passion has gone….cry out to Him…He wants us too.

You can let go of all that anger you carry around inside. Stop lying to yourself and saying you cant, because you can. You just don’t want to. I spent the first 2 years in recovery angrier than some of my worst days on drugs. We can become addicted to emotions just like any other substance because they change the way we act. They are mood altering.

I realised, if I can give up heroin, I can give up anger. If I can give up booze and cigarettes, I can give up hatred and if I can leave that old lifestyle behind that I was so passionate about, I can put that effort into being passionate about something productive and worthwhile.

And if I can do it, anyone can.